With only three weeks left in the regular season, both Utah and Arizona State went into their matchup Wednesday night desperately needing a win.
The Utes and Sun Devils are both viewed as NCAA bubble teams, and while a loss wouldn’t burst those hopes, a win would bolster that resume in a contest that counted as a Quad 2 game for both schools.
On this night at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona, it was Arizona State who got a much-needed 71-61 victory.
The Sun Devils had an answer every time Utah, which only led for 32 seconds all night, tried to rally and take the lead, led by the efforts of Gabby Elliott and McKinna Brackens.
The win gives Arizona State (20-6, 7-6 Big 12) a sweep over Utah (16-9, 7-6 Big 12), after defeating the Utes 69-68 at the Huntsman Center in late December.
It’s also the first back-to-back losses for Utah in Big 12 play this season.
Turnovers were a major storyline in the contest, as Utah struggled with giving the ball away, an ongoing issue for the Utes this season.
The Utes had seven turnovers in the first half and 12 at halftime before finishing the game with 21. That included two in the final minute and a half, when Utah was trying to rally one last time.
Arizona State cashed those takeaways into 16 points, while Utah scored 11 points off 11 Sun Devil turnovers.
Lani White had five turnovers for Utah, Chyra Evans added four and Reese Ross and Brooke Walker each finished with three.
“It’s continuing, the same people, and it’s really just being able to throw the ball to an open teammate. We’re throwing it out of bounds,” Utah coach Gavin Petersen said said in his postgame interview on ESPN 700 AM. “This was a physical game. That’s what ASU is known for, but we’ve got to do a better job in that regard of taking care of the basketball.
“Every team we play from here on out is going to pressure us. We work on it in practice against guys, our Red Army practice squad, and we do fine. And then the game lights come on and we forget everything regarding fundamentals.”
Despite never leading over the final three and a half quarters, the Utes managed to stick around thanks to high-scoring games from White (19 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal) and Maty Wilke (17 points, four rebounds, three steals, two assists, one block).
After going into halftime trailing by three, Utah had a chance to take the lead in the third quarter.
First, the Utes tied the game at 39-39 on an LA Sneed 3. A little over a minute of game time later, Evelina Otto scored off an Arizona State turnover to make it a 42-41 game.
Utah came up with a stop, but White couldn’t hit a 3-point attempt that would have given the Utes their first lead since 9-8.
Then, on the Sun Devils’ next possession, Last-Tear Poa raced in for an offensive rebound, then kicked out to Elliott, who nailed a 3-pointer to make it 45-41.
While both teams finished with 11 second-chance points, that 3 loomed large as a major pivot point for the Sun Devils.
Eventually, Arizona State pushed its lead to 54-43 in the early moments of the fourth quarter, only for Utah to go on a 7-0 run to make it a 54-50 game with 7:19 to play.
That was the last time the Utes got as close as within four, though, as Martina Fantini stopped the run with a shot that bounced around the rim before falling in, then Elliott scored six straight points for the Sun Devils as they maintained a safe lead.
Elliott had 19 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists to pace Arizona State, while Brackens added 14 points, six assists, three blocks and two rebounds.
Though Utah out-rebounded Arizona State 39-25, the Sun Devils shot five more field goals — thanks to the turnover differential — and were 45.5% from the floor, compared to Utah’s 38%.
Arizona State was also more efficient from 3-point range, making 7 of 13, while the Utes were 6 of 25.
“Credit to them. We had them working all game for the most part, deep into the shot clock on the defensive end. Then it was one moment of just relaxation, and you have Elliott being able to capitalize on that, Brackens being able to capitalize,” Petersen said.
“They made some tough shots, and we got to do a better job of closing possessions. I thought we relaxed as well on some O-board opportunities, especially early in that third quarter, when we started to get some energy and momentum going. Those things, especially when you’re on the road, you cannot do so. We’ve got to be able to close out those type of games.”
With the loss, Utah falls to 2-8 in Quad 2 games, though it is buoyed by a 2-1 record against Quad 1 opponents.
Arizona State, meanwhile, moved to 7-1 against Quad 2 opponents, along with an 0-3 mark in Quad 1 games.
The Utes will return Saturday to face Cincinnati (5 p.m. MST, ESPN+) in a game where the program’s all-time winningest head coach, Elaine Elliott, will be honored at halftime.
“You know the tradition, rich program we have here at Utah. It wasn’t built overnight. Elaine Elliott is the all-time winningest coach in program history. This is a great honor that she is receiving,” Petersen said.
“... We have three more games at home, and we need as much support to get us over that hump, and we’re right there. We just need a little bit more help.”